Three killed in Bihar fair stampede, probe ordered

At least three people were killed and over a dozen injured in a stampede at a fair in Bihar’s Banka district, police said Wednesday. A local police official has been suspended and a probe ordered into the incident.

“Preliminary inquiry suggests that the stampede was caused after either a clash between two groups or rumours of a fire when hundreds were watching a vulgar dance at a theatre in the fair after midnight,” said a district police official.

According to police officials, one of those trampled upon in the stampede was a local resident and the other two were from neighbouring Bhagalpur district.

The injured have been admitted to various hospitals.

Some people complained that there was no arrangement for proper light and security at the fair.

Banka Superintendent of Police Pushkar Anand said the Bhagalpur deputy inspector general of police has asked him to inquire into the incident, while Baunsi police station chief Ashok Kumar has been suspended for neglect of the duty.

Anand said the theatre was closed immediately after the incident and district authorities would initiate process to cancel its license.